CCMH Foundation welcomes new Director

- March 7, 2019

The Cavalier County Memorial Hospital (CCMH) Foundation has welcomed a new director, McKinzie Sivertson. Sivertson has strong ties to the Langdon area as she is the daughter of Mark and Rebecca Ratzlaff and has experience with the medical community here as well having worked at CCMH after graduating from nursing school in 2014. For the past four years, Sivertson has been in Fargo gaining experience in the medical administration field.

Posted 3/7/19

By Melissa Anderson

“I was the assistant director of nurses at Maple View Memory Care of Fargo then decided to go back to the clinic world in about 2016 (Sanford) where I officially just stepped down from that position to roll into this new foundation director job,” Sivertson explained.

Sivertson shared that when the position became available, she and husband Cody had already made the decision that Langdon would be best for them. The main draw for Sivertson taking the position was being back in the Langdon area as she still has family here. In addition to the location appeal was the chance for Sivertson to do more with her career, something she has been searching for. Sivertson’s mother knew she was not satisfied with just nursing.

“My mother actually sent me a picture of the ad for the director position, and I didn’t really think too much of it. I love nursing, but I knew I wanted something ‘more’. I didn’t know what that “more’ was, but I knew that something was missing,” Sivertson said.

After only a few weeks, Sivertson feels that she is fitting beautifully into the new role as foundation director and believes the ‘more’ she has been searching for could have been this position all along. Sivertson also realizes that she has big shoes to fill. Mary Shankar was the previous foundation director for many years. She did very well for this foundation and took it not seriously but very seriously. In addition to Shanksr, Sivertson is also enjoying working with Margaret Hiltner, the foundation’s secretary, and her 4th grade teacher.

“I hope to keep her as long as I can as she was one of the reasons I even applied,” Sivertson said.

Over the past few weeks, Sivertson has been enjoying becoming acquainted with her new position. The history of the CCMH Foundation is not lost on her nor is the dedication of her predecessor. While there have been many who have done a lot for the foundation, Sivertson believes it is Mary Shankar who deserves most of the credit.

“The foundation board couldn’t do it without this role, and this role couldn’t do it without the board. It’s pretty cool how it works, actually,” Sivertson explained.

Looking ahead, the position holds two appeals for her. Sivertson has always loved doing book work and now she will also learn how to be an event coordinator as well. She has no doubts that for this position to be a long-term commitment, building the necessary relationships with past, present, and future donors is what her passion will be. While there is a lot for Sivertson to learn, she is undaunted in knowing how to run an organization and be successful. This goal could only be achieved with the love and support from this small town community.

“I’m looking forward to filling my cup with new knowledge and a higher level of professionalism,” Sivertson said.

With that in mind, she looks to continue going forward with old and new ideas. Sivertson plans to build off of the already incredible success that Shankar created and bring the foundation into the 21st century. As the new director, she will be on the hunt for new ideas and more technological advancements such as: online registering for events, paying online for those events, social media posts and accounts, and last, but not least, actual “online donating” to the foundation.

Sivertson would like to give a special shout out to her mother for being the one to inform her of the position and saying, “I think you would be really good at this!” The opportunity came at just the right time.

“Thank goodness she reads the Republican. Also, a special thank you to my husband and the rest of my family for being my greatest supporters! I love you all and am so happy to be back.“

Please be on the lookout for more updates on this ever so great foundation. Lots to come!

Save the date: 25th annual CCMH Foundation Golf Tournament to be held on Saturday, June 8 at the Langdon Country Club. This tournament will be in honor and in memory of the late Mary Shankar.